Bijou Wear is a start-up wrap company in the United States. This company is the brainchild of Jaime Gassmann, who calls herself a "fabric mixmaster." I have had the pleasure of getting to know Jaime over the last month as I anticipated the release of her first two wraps: Windmills Lake Tahoe and Blast Firecracker.
Jaime started a chatter group on Facebook to spread the word about her company and her wraps. Her enthusiasm for and love of babywearing comes through in every one of her posts. She takes an active role in the growing Bijou community by responding to every thread. She also posts plenty of pictures on Instagram.
Recently, I asked Jamie about her inspiration for starting a wrap company and her inspiration for the wraps she creates. She said,
Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, it's always been clear I would work for myself. But before now I hadn't found that sweet spot where a passion and a business plan intersected. Parenting in ways that connect caregivers and children in naturally close ways started as a personal philosophy that developed into a calling with my volunteer work supporting breastfeeding mothers. My love of babywearing grew out of that philosophy, as part and parcel of naturally close and loving caregiver-child relationships. So when I went on vacation and all my mental energy focused on babywearing, I knew that I had the drive to make this happen right now in my life. A year after my first son was born, I went back to grad school and finished my degree. And now my second son is one year old and I'm launching my business. It's important to me that they see their parents achieving goals and contributing to the world.
I got in to woven wraps by making my own. DIY is fun and a great creative outlet. Through that process I learned a great deal about fibers and dye. I became very interested in traditional dye stuffs and methods. Indigo is the holy grail of such things, and I have done my own indigo dye vat in which I tried out a variety of shibori techniques. The root of the Blast pattern is in a square flower that I think is shibori of some sort. I developed the design, thinking about maximizing different weave structures for texture and color variation, then passed it on to one of the designer/artists with whom I work, who made it into a work of art.
Jamie geeks out over fabric and babywearing. And her passion shows in the final product. I got the awesome opportunity to preview Blast Firecracker, which released Friday, June 19th.
Blast Firecracker is the Tencel® wrap that has changed my mind about Tencel®. I only knew Tencel® as a very soft fabric that sagged under the weight of my growing toddler. Jaime knew she could change my mind.
Meet Blast Firecracker.
First of all, look at the color! This orange is a gorgeous burnt tangerine that looks amazing on all skin tones (and I know because I've wrapped many moms in this wrap this past week!).
Second, look at that pattern! The pattern is inspired by the shibori technique of tie-dying. It is a series of different sized circles within squares that look different depending on how which carry you are doing. (The following picture hints at a colorway that is coming out soon!).
Now, the wrap qualities of this beauty are amazing. The fabric is a Tencel®/cotton fiber blend. Tencel® is a sustainable fiber that is made from wood pulp and is chemically identical to bamboo.
Tencel® is known for being very soft and moldable.
This wrap is indeed soft and moldable. It is extremely "floppy" after a single wash. One property of
Tencel® that I must warn about is that Tencel® has a tendency to filibrate, which means it becomes a little "peachy" after the initial wash. I have had the wrap for a week now and I have worn it daily and have carried it around with me and it had not become any more peachy than it was on the first day I received it. In fact, I barely even notice.
The fabric feels soft to the touch with a little bit of texture. Texture is good because it helps hold a wrap in place and creates a nice knot.
This wrap has a slight texture, but is also smooth so the passes glide into place very easily. Last week my son had his first tantrum and I threw him up on my back because he was refusing to calm down. I was able to get the seat made and the passes in place in a double hammock quickly with very little effort. My son calmed and sank into the wrap calmly.
Speaking of double hammock, this wrap rocks carries with diagonal passes like a Double Hammock, Shepard's Carry, HJBC, or FWCC because of it's diagonal stretch. The wrap is made up of a number of squares and the wrap stretches in an X (crisscross) across each of the squares.
The stretch also allows the wrap to hug your shoulder in any carry, which means the wrap is the absolute opposite of "diggy." Once in place, this wrap feels as soft and comfy as your favorite t-shirt.
This wrap has completely changed my mind about Tencel®. I used to think Tencel® was only a "squish worthy" wrap that held babies up to 20 lbs and was no longer good for my growing toddler. I sold off the Tencel® I used to own. But then I met Bijou Tencel®, which holds my 20 lb toddler with no issue and will continue to hold him for a long time. This wrap is permastash.
That's not to say it's not "squish worthy," though. I have had the pleasure of wrapping two squishes this week in Blast Firecracker and both moms raved over how softness of the fabric.
I think we will see great things from Jaime Gassman and Bijou. I am so happy to be able to own one of the first Bijou wraps and to have tried both of last week's releases. Stay tuned for a comparison of Windmills Lake Tahoe and Blast Firecracker in a couple of days.
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